Dream11 transitions from RMG fantasy to second-screen sports platform, bets on ad revenue

Dream11 has formally announced a major pivot from its long-standing identity as a real-money gaming (RMG) fantasy platform to a full-fledged second-screen sports entertainment app, marking one of the most significant product overhauls in the company’s 18-year history. The new app, now approved, is set to go live on the Play Store and App Store within the next 24 hours. It places creator-led watch-alongs, interactive fan engagement formats, and ad-supported revenue at its core, with the company stating that advertising will be one of its primary revenue engines in the near term.

The shift follows Dream11’s decision earlier this year to discontinue its RMG fantasy offering “the same day it became illegal,” said Harsh Jain, Co-founder and CEO of Dream11 and Dream Sports. With that business closed, the company spent the past few months building what it described as “the next big problem to tackle” in Indian sports consumption: the loneliness of watching sports alone.

Jain framed the product as a second-screen solution addressing a behaviour the company says already defines the majority of Indian sports viewership. “No one likes to watch sports alone,” he said, adding that the new experience aims to let fans “take their sports engagement to the next level with watch-alongs that enable sports creators and fans to share their raw and unfiltered emotions before, during and after every match.” According to Dream11’s public materials, 80% of fans use a second screen while watching live sports.

Read On: Zero marketing spends: Dream11 prioritises user retention in new sports entertainment push

The product’s centrepiece is interactive watch-alongs hosted by creators, where users can engage in real-time banter, ask questions, join live collaborations, and use virtual currency for shout-outs, a model comparable to monetisation mechanics on global live platforms. The app will also feature quizzes, micro-engagement “moments”, creator collaborations, and a free-to-play fantasy sports section integrated within the wider entertainment experience.

Jain pointed to global examples such as Twitch to illustrate how creator-led streaming can scale. “Twitch showed how a deeply integrated creator experience can build a multi-billion-dollar ecosystem,” he said, while noting that sports requires a platform tailored to match scores, live data, and the sports community, features that generalist video platforms do not provide in an integrated way.

Creators and Shared Revenues

To seed content, Dream11 has begun onboarding creators, with 25 signed up so far, the company said. It added that it will work with a mix of top-tier and mid-tier creators during the early phase.

Jain emphasised revenue sharing with creators: “Creators will get the lion’s share of earnings from virtual goods and ad revenue,” he said, while Dream11 will retain a platform fee. The app integrates scorecards, live commentary, and match data directly into streams, an element Dream11 executives said will differentiate it from general video platforms, where fans typically must switch between video and score apps.

Advertising As a Major Revenue Pillar

Dream11 confirmed that ads will continue across the platform, including pre-rolls and mid-rolls, with ad revenues shared with creators. With virtual-goods spending still nascent in India, Jain said advertising would be “one of the app’s most important revenue streams for the foreseeable future.” He noted global benchmarks where some watch-along platforms see up to $10 per user in virtual spending, but added that Indian per-user spending will start at a much lower level.

The company also framed the addressable market positively, citing a $10 billion global TAM for creator-centric sports engagement and emphasising India’s scale as a key advantage.

Read On: ‘We remain committed to building a great Indian sports company’: Dream Sports' Harsh Jain

Rebrand, Leaner Team and Internal Restructuring

As part of the pivot, Dream11 introduced a visual refresh, adopting a dark theme and neon palette, with a new logo colour to signal the shift. The company said fewer than 200 people now work on Dream11, down from around 1,000 previously, explaining the reduction as a redistribution across Dream Sports’ new structure. Dream Sports has been reorganised into eight business units, each designed to operate like an independent startup.

He said the company even removed lock-ins related to joining bonuses, allowing employees who preferred stability over a startup-style environment to leave voluntarily without penalty. According to Jain, the restructuring was designed to retain the “winning team” while ensuring only those aligned with the new startup-driven model remained, and the company maintained that fewer than 200 people now work on Dream11, with the rest reassigned rather than laid off.

Marketing Approach and Funding

Despite the product relaunch and rebrand, Dream11 expects to rely initially on its existing user base rather than a large paid marketing push. The company will “educate” its 20-30 million monthly active users about the new watch-along features. For the launch phase, Dream11 said it planned zero external marketing spend, arguing that creators will not go live to empty audiences and that the platform’s existing user base can immediately address the cold-start problem.

Read On: Dream11 halts paid contests, shifts to free-to-play model

Jain said Dream11 has no plans to bring on brand ambassadors for the new product, noting that the company “can’t afford them” during the current cost-optimisation phase. He added that celebrity endorsements would not address the real challenge: whether Dream11’s existing user base adopts the new watch-along experience. According to him, if the platform’s active users do not find value in the revamped offering, “no marketing or celebrity face will make a difference,” emphasising that creator-led engagement and organic user interest will drive early traction rather than high-visibility campaigns.

Jain added that there were no immediate plans to raise fresh funding for Dream11’s pivot. The firm expects to cover initial product and development costs from existing resources, with compute and server costs likely to rise only if user adoption scales rapidly.

Safety, Moderation and Regulatory Stance

The app will be available only to users aged 18 and over, the company said, and will operate under community guidelines and moderation safeguards. Jain emphasised that the product does not host broadcast streams; it enables fan interactions around live matches, a distinction Dream11 says avoids direct conflicts with broadcasting rights.

The app is being rolled out in phases and will eventually be made globally available, Dream11 said, as it aims to convert fantasy audiences into a creator-driven, second-screen sports community.